Hallow Plus now available for free to all Notre Dame students and faculty.
The University of Notre Dame partnered with the Hallow app this year to grant free premium access to all current Notre Dame faculty and students. The app began as an idea in the Notre Dame IDEA Center and was founded by Notre Dame Alumni Alessandro DiSanto, Alex Jones, and Eric Kerekes. Since its publication in 2018, the Hallow app has become the #1 Catholic prayer app in the nation.
The Hallow website explains the purpose of the app with a quote from St. Teresa of Avila: “Contemplative prayer, in my opinion, is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”
Fr. Kevin Grove C.S.C., a member of Hallow’s Theological Advisory board, spoke with the Rover about the variety of ways to use the app:
“The Hallow App shows the richness and depth of different forms of Catholic prayer. It engages everything you can imagine from The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz to the Liturgy of the Hours, prayers of the Church, the rosary, novenas, and prayers for adoration. It has the whole horizon of Catholic prayer. It even has ways of helping people to grow together [as they pray].”
Hallow attempts to connect people with one another through prayer. Fr. Grove explained, “On the app, you can organize yourself into family groups, parishes, or other groups. The Hallow app affords Notre Dame students the chance to grow together in prayer because of its community functions. These functions support not only Catholic students in their ability to pray as individuals and as the whole body of Christ, but all students who wish to benefit from the richness of Catholic prayer. It would be neat to see dormitories or groups of students [use this feature], because they could help to challenge each other.”
The Hallow app may also help students’ mental health, since it features short prayers for students after a long day and nighttime meditations including stories from the lives of the saints or the Bible. According to Vice President for Student Affairs Fr. Gerry Olinger C.S.C., “This app serves as an excellent resource for those who are interested in exploring the intersection of their Catholic faith and their mental health. As a Catholic institution, we want our students to grow in their relationship with God. The Hallow app provides students with ways to be in conversation with God and to see their faith as a source of comfort and strength, which we hope will help them become the person God calls each of them to be.”
Fr. Grove agreed that growing in prayer can help students become who they are meant to be: “The Hallow app, like so many other possibilities for prayer and engagement in faith on this campus, pushes our students and provides them with the opportunity to engage with the most intimate space that the human person responds to God.”
Notre Dame Alumnus and Hallow CEO Alex Jones shared what it has been like to partner with Notre Dame from his perspective:
“We’re honored to be able to support the University in helping students find peace and grow deeper in relationship with God. As Domers, the founding team of Hallow has always had a special place in our heart for Our Lady’s University. Our experience there, the people we met, the rectors that mentored us, the professors we learned from, and the clubs we found community in, changed our lives.”
Jones concluded, “We would not be working on this project or, speaking for myself, might not even be Christian, if not for the Notre Dame family. This opportunity to partner together to help students pray is an incredibly humbling blessing.”
The Hallow app is free to download and to use, and Notre Dame students and faculty can receive Hallow Plus, the app’s premium feature, to make use of the entire offering of prayers and programs. To download Hallow Plus, look for a QR code posted at Campus Ministry, St. Liam’s, the Health and Wellness Center, LaFortune Student Center, or elsewhere on campus.
Margaret Mathis is a sophomore studying classics and business economics who loves sewing and hopes to become an attorney. When she is not busy translating Plato’s Symposium in the Hesburgh library, she can be found narrowly escaping trademark infringement by sneakily hand-sewing the Notre Dame logo onto everything she owns. Reach out to her at mmathis@nd.edu.
Image credit: Hallow
